What to Expect When Starting your Invisalign or Clear Aligner Treatment
Jun 08, 2023
Congratulations on beginning this Invisalign treatment journey towards your new smile! As a dental assistant, I noticed that a lot of patients found it helpful to have a bit more explanation of what’s on their teeth and what to expect in the first few days of treatment. If you’ve just picked up your new set of aligners or are preparing for your first day of wearing Invisalign, knowing what to expect can help you prepare, stay consistent, and handle any surprises along the way.
What are attachments?
Attachments are tiny tooth-colored “bumps”, aka buttons that are bonded to the teeth using dental composites. Dentists place them on specific teeth to help direct the force of your clear aligner more effectively and predictably in the prescribed direction.
With newly placed attachments or buttons, I’ve noticed patients often struggle with tooth sensitivity and soreness, and also aligner placement and removal, especially in the early stages of your orthodontic treatment plan. Here are some tips to help make your clear aligner experience better.
Sensitivity
When you’re moving teeth, especially for more elaborate complex cases or moderate-severely misaligned teeth, your teeth will be sore. The degree of Invisalign pain or Invisalign discomfort can vary but they're usually temporary. This soreness can feel more intense on teeth with buttons or attachments since they directly connect with the aligner trays. However, there are ways to help reduce tooth soreness and sensitivity. One thing I always recommended to patients was wait to use an electric toothbrush until you are on your second or third tray. Even at their lowest setting, many find the vibrations to be very intense, so waiting until you are further along in your treatment (and the programmed teeth movements are less extreme) gives your teeth and gums time to acclimate movement and better tolerate the additional vibration from an electric toothbrush.
Soreness
Soreness is to be expected with every first 1-3 days of each new aligner tray as your teeth adjust. In general you can expect more soreness from your initial aligners because your teeth are still getting used to the idea of them moving into new places for your new smile. As your mouth is adjusting to something new, and you might even feel like your speech is slightly altered. However, Invisalign aligners start to fit better and feel comfortable within just a few days.
Dentists provide chewies or the PUL 2-in-1 Aligner Chewie & Removal Tool. (Alternatively, I’ve heard of other offices that provide suction tips). These tools can reduce soreness by getting the blood flowing around the periodontal ligaments around the root of each tooth while they’re moving. They also provide leverage to push the aligner trays into place. They work more effectively if you use them for 3-5 minutes every time you put your clear aligners back in.
I do want to acknowledge that the pain, sensitivity, and soreness from clear aligner treatment tends to be more unsettling and disconcerting for adults than it is for younger generations. The way I think of it is the older you are, the further away time (and memory) you are from the experience of your teeth moving around, and the longer your mouth and teeth are accustomed to their starting position before beginning treatment, and. For this reason, investing in something like the PUL 2-in-1 Tool might make more sense, just to help ease some of that discomfort during your treatment time.
Of course, if the problem persists, I would recommend alerting your own practitioners about the sensitivity issue and getting personalized support.
Eating Habits Will Change
With Invisalign, you’ll need to remove your trays before eating, which means snacking less and brushing more. Avoid sticky or hard foods that can affect your teeth or trays. After eating, always clean your aligners to keep them effective and hygienic. This is a big change for some, but it’s one of the reasons Invisalign treatment tends to be more discreet and manageable than traditional braces.
Safe Aligner Removal and Choosing the Right Tool
Thoughts on Aligner Removal
We now know attachments are what allow the aligner trays to move your teeth, but that means they, by design, make removing your aligner difficult. Patients have found an aligner remover tool really helpful, especially during the early stages of each clear aligner tray. It’s critical as well that if you are using a seating or removal tool (or both with the PUL 2-in-1 Tool) you use them in the areas where attachments are placed, not only to make the process as pleasant as possible, but also for the preservation of your clear aligner trays.
You’ll find that as you near the end of your treatment time with that aligner, it’ll be a lot easier to remove (because your teeth have moved into their programmed place), so an aligner removal tool isn’t as necessary, but is definitely still helpful, efficient, and more hygienic.
Choosing the right aligner removal tool for you
There are definitely several options for aligner removal tools, and I’ve even heard of some DIY tools like a golf tee, crochet hook, or even just using fingers. However, the complaints of these makeshift options include, respectively, their lack of grip, aligner tray damage, inconvenient transport, lack of discreteness for public use, and hygienic questionability. I recommend using our original clear aligner removal tool, the PULTOOL, which I specifically developed because I saw how difficult it was for our patients to track their dental treatment and safely remove their aligners.
If you are doubting whether or not an aligner removal tool is worth the investment, I will say the prolific number of knock-offs of our PULTOOL speaks for itself. Of course, we hope you go with the PUL system, but whichever you choose, I’ll just be glad that you have a tool to help you along your own Invisalign / clear aligner journey.
Happy PULing!
Jannet Ly
Jannet is a Registered Dental Assistant and cofounder of PUL Dental, creator of the Original PULTOOL- the first hook and ring aligner removal tool and the first reusable 2-in-1 aligner seating and removal tool. She brings over a decade of hands-on experience helping patients achieve their dream smiles.
Editorial Policy
At PUL Dental, our goal is to provide clear, reliable, and helpful information to patients and dental professionals navigating the world of clear aligner treatment. All content on our blog is written by our cofounder, a Registered Dental Assistant with over a decade of experience in the dental field and a specialized background in adult orthodontics.
Drawing from years of hands-on clinical experience and patient interaction, we aim to create content that reflects real-world insights, clinical knowledge, and practical solutions.
Every article is:
Written with firsthand experience from working directly with patients undergoing clear aligner therapy.
Focused on accuracy and relevance to current orthodontic practices and patient needs.
Transparent about our perspective, including when we share insights about products we've developed, such as the Original PULTOOL.
As our content team grows, we plan to expand our editorial process to include additional contributors, expert reviewers, and peer collaboration to further enhance the depth and quality of the information we provide.
We are committed to earning and keeping your trust by continuing to publish content that is accurate, patient-centered, and informed by real clinical experience.
